A lot of what Charlie observed matches what a former co-worker once told me. He used to work for Arco in Southern California. His job was pricing and distribution. Most of the fuel came from the SoCal refineries in Carson CA. (Near Long Beach) He told me that fuel refinement is based on Federal, State, and County regulations. Therefore, there were at least 66 different formulas for gasoline in CA at the time. Taxes are roughly $0.70-.80 per gallon which is why California gas is more expensive than other states. That might explain why someone living in the Eastern portion of the state might find better gasoline than someone living in the central coastline. (Different counties)
Lastly, because of the formulation requirements, (ie Oxygenation, ethanol mix, additives etc) he told me that a specific truck may carry a certain formula and distribute to Union 76, then to Arco, then to Shell--all the same gasoline. I do not know if brand specific additives are added post delivery. CA gasoline is really bad. If any of my cars or motorized devices are to be inactive for any extended period of time, I have to consider using fuel preservative or risk varnishing the fuel system. I've already ruined a lawn mower and a snow blower--i haven't rebuilt a carburetor since I was in High School. On Jan 8, 2015, at 6:45 AM, Charlie Russo wrote: > Here where I live I get a kick out of people swearing by a particular brand > of gasoline or condemning another. > What most of them do not realize is that ALL the gas (with one exception) > comes from the SAME local distribution tank farm on the other side of town. > I have passed by there and seen tankers with various brand names on them > filling up. Since there are only a couple of big tanks at this facility there > is no way the base gas is different. > Not sure what additives are being added when each tanker fills up but there > are not a lot of big tanks so the chemical additives cannot vary that much > either. > > At the retail level the local Sunoco stations still offer 93 octane. > Personally in more modern vehicles higher octane is a waste of 30 cents more > per gallon for me. > > In my older VWs I have started using Ethanol-free 87 Octane. It is a lot more > expensive at the only place that sells it near where I live but I do not > drive them as much and the gas mileage is better. > This place does a Booming business from old vehicle owners, motorcycle owners > and lawn care companies. > On a towing trip last summer I filled up my pickup with ethanol-free gas in > Virginia. Performance was better and MPG increased 10%+. > On that trip the ethanol-free gas was 40 cents/gal cheaper than my gas at > home with ethanol. I'm guessing the Pennsylvania state gas taxes played a big > part in the price difference. > I also use the ethanol-free gas in my lawn mower and small engine devices > here at home. > _______________________________________________ > a2-16v-list mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.a2-16v.com/mailman/listinfo/a2-16v-list > For list archives, see listinfo link above. _______________________________________________ a2-16v-list mailing list [email protected] http://mail.a2-16v.com/mailman/listinfo/a2-16v-list For list archives, see listinfo link above.
